Yuli Krisna, Bandung – Like a lot of people in Indonesia, 35-year-old Bayu is suspicious of the government's immunization programs, mostly because of rumors he has heard from social media and religious Muslim leaders.

Bayu said he had opted to keep his three children from receiving vaccination that are designed to prevent illnesses like polio, small pox and hepatitis.

Among the many theories he heard is vaccines will only make a child sicker, since they are developed from the virus. He is most concerned about the unsubstantiated rumors that swine is involved in the production of vaccines, which Muslims considered to be haram, or forbidden in Islam.

Bayu is not alone. Many, particularly in rural areas, hold the rumors and misinformation true, trusting the words of their clerics instead of government officials, doctors and scientists which say otherwise.

This has become a source of concern for a number of parents in West Java, who later formed the social media drive "Immunization Awareness Movement," or Gesamun, in May 2012.

The group chose Facebook as its platform for spreading information about immunization and dismissing the many myths surrounding it, since the social media site is commonly used by those living in poor urban areas and villages.

"We realize that a lot of people find this misinformation about immunization online," said Gesamun co-founder Alifah Cavida. "Which is why we decided to form an online based movement to spread credible information [on immunization] from world leading scientists and organizations."

Alifah, 32, is one of four administrators for Gesamun's Facebook page and through the years, Alifah found countless myths surrounding immunization from those calling it "a Jewish conspiracy," haram, or being a cause of autism. "Fact is, none of these claims are ever proven scientifically," she said.

In the beginning, Gesamun's Facebook page was also attacked by Internet trolls, posting various myths on immunization. The page's administrators also have to brace themselves for possible propaganda wars, tirelessly countering the trolls and the myths they write one by one.

Eventually, Alifah said, Gesamun administrators managed to slowly convince skeptics, particularly after they invited several doctors and scientists to join the group and shed light and answer people's questions.

Gesamun also invited legal experts, ministry officials and even members of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the country's most prominent Muslim body. Today, the Facebook group has 48,000 members from all walks of life.

"From the group's discussion, it shows, that people are slowly changing their attitudes [towards immunization] at the very least, some people began to look for the truth and verify the many myths they have read and heard from credible sources," she said.

"They are many who became aware [of the importance of immunization] and give non-subsidized vaccines to their children." Alifah said the hardest thing about being a Gesamun administrator is juggling her time between her venture, work and her two children.

"But seeing more and more parents opting not to give vaccination shots to their children because of unconfirmed rumors compelled me to do something about it," she said. "For me, immunization is a way for parents to prove that they care about their children's future."Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/debunking-dangerous-myths-vaccination-indonesians/